12.21.2014

Dec. 21, 2014: I’m not one of the fortunate many who call themselves
parents. But I know where I came from. And I’d never say I made it completely
on my own.

It’s the same for wine. After all, the production and
enjoyment of wine is, in most cases, a collaborative process. Both men and
women pick the grapes from their vines, stooping over day after day, their
hands becoming sticky in the process. Winemakers seek others’ opinions when
blending or selecting the best grapes for a vintage. Whole other industries
produce the steel vats and wooden barrels that embrace grapes’ juices for
months, if not years, at a time.

Bottle labels involve not just art, but theory, economics,
passion, and, in the best cases, honesty, too. Salespeople are responsible for the
ways and manners in which these wines are sold. And in the end, most drink
their wines with others.

Yet to really get at the heart of what makes a wine a wine, you
have to understand the grapes that made it possible. Enter Carole P. Meredith. She
owns Lagier Meredith Vineyard with her husband in Napa, California.But she is also professor emeritus from the
Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California at Davis.
Her specialty is grape DNA.

Meredith and one of her colleagues, John E. Bowers, proved
with greater certainty than ever before that Cabernet Sauvignon is the child of
Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc.Additionally,
it’s thanks to Meredith’s research that we know that Syrah is very likely the
child of Dureze andMondeuse Blanche.

Many wine lovers will have heard of Cabernet
Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. But fewer people will know Dureze or Mondeuse
Blanche, Meredith told the Syrah Producers’ Club in 2004.Mondeuse Blanche is a variety from theSavoie region of France, east of the Rhone.It almost disappeared, she told the group;indeed, with only a little more than 12 acres,it has a very limited cultivation today.

Dureze is not grown today.“The only place you can find it is in a collection,
and I would addas an aside that all our work
was done with samples taken from the French national variety collection in
Montpellier, which is a museum of great varieties,” Meredith said. “Many of
them no longer exist today,and had it not been
for the foresight of the French researchers about 100 years ago to save these
old varieties before they were lost, we would not have been able to do the
studies that we have done.”

So aside from great wine, we have here at
least two things: French researchers who had faith in science and its ability
to reveal what they could not know then but might learn later;and at least one scientist who used the past to solve
a mystery that helps others now and in the future.

It’s an amazingly tactical application of science,
where DNA is used for the right reasons, in the correct, responsible, and documented
ways, to help us all.This isn’t the type of
science that, twisted and turned, is transmitted solely by word of mouth.It has roots, and even more stems. It’s when you put
them all together that this suddenly becomes clear.

Cabernet Sauvignon grapes dominate the wine
world, making up 6.3 percent of the market,according
to a team of researchers from the University of Adelaide in South Australia.Interest in Syrah is expanding, too.But as with anything that has the power to influence
markets, jobs, and the future of the wine industry, the foundation matters. Some
might say it matters more now than ever before.

So which has more sway over Cabernet
Sauvignon? Is it Cabernet Franc’s staid insistence on backbone, on substance?Or is it Sauvignon Blanc’s flash, its jarring
acidity? Is their union just a dazed accident? Or is this a long, involved love
affair, where each draws strength from the other?

I don’t know the answer to these questions.
But I do think the best Cabernet Sauvignon wines have no need to dominate the room.
They can, and they will, when it benefits as much of the meal as possible. But
they don’t flaunt their powers unnecessarily.

The 2009 Venge Silencieux Cabernet Sauvignon will
get you to talk, even if it’s in low tones, about theDanish-American
family that produces it.Concentrated and
smooth, this Californian has red berry and coffee overtones and contains 14.8
percent alcohol. It’s more muted and less intense than other, bigger Cabernet
Sauvignon.Purchased at Madeleine’s — A Fusion
Restaurant, at a Venge wine dinner.

12.07.2014

Dec. 7, 2014: A
number of writers won’t admit this. But I find charm in the first, second and
third drafts of a narrative — the ones you don’t usually see.

Sure,
these versions are often rough, and the words can struggle to right themselves
on the page. Sometimes the words even wobble, later, when you take more time to
think them through. But when you discover a wine that makes you think, that
makes you feel, there’s this immediate rush to get those words to the page —
before you forget them or, worse, they refuse to reappear. These are the words
that capture the emotion of a wine, that both reign it in and let it fly, and
that, finally, reveal it for what it is: Graceful, or bland, or powerful, or
watered down, or gentle, or challenged, or just plain not ready. And often, and
to their credit, drafts do that before anyone else has had a hand in the
process.

Here
are some of my first impressions of wines that impacted me:

2013
Blindfold White Wine, California, The Prisoner Wine Co.: This wine is good, and
it won’t disorient you. Blindfolded or not, just consider it mellow. This blend
of Chardonnay, Viognier, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc, Chenin Blanc and a few other
grapes has a pineapple nose and a smooth texture.

“This
wine was a lot of fun to make as we were not constrained by a specific region
or varietal,” said winemaker Jen Beloz. She worked with vintner Dave Phinney,
the original creator of The Prisoner, as that wine was sold and spun off into
its own company. The Blindfold is actually supposed to be The Prisoner’s white
wine companion, according to K&L Wine Merchants. “We used Chardonnay as our
canvas and layered on interesting aromatic varietals that complimented the base
to create something that is truly unlike anything out there.”

2011
Joseph Phelps Pinot Noir, Freestone Vineyards, Estate Grown, Sonoma Coast,
California: I chilled it and opened it way too cold, but it still had a bright
blackberry nose. This Pinot Noir is tannic and a bit bitter — it’s on the more
serious side and has a darker color than most California Pinot Noir I’m
familiar with. It’s tightly controlled and tightly wound; it doesn’t fall apart
easily. Very compact, dense. Good with baked Coho salmon from The Fresh Market.
The bitterness in the wine was enhanced by the bitterness in sautéed turnip
greens with bacon (note to self: don’t pair these three again.) But with mostly
bacon, this Pinot is juicy, luscious. This might be better paired with a fatty
dish like pork. It has black pepper elements. I really like this wine. Some
Pinots are so sweet they are inconsequential — throwaways you can quickly
dismiss with the flick of your wrist. Not this one. It has more personality and
elegance. 13.5 percent alcohol. $41.99. Friar Tuck Beverage in St. Louis.

2012
Machete, California Red Wine,Orin Swift Cellars, Napa: Do all wine roads lead
to Dave Phinney? No, but many of mine do. The Machete is a blend of Petite
Sirah, Syrah and Grenache, and at 15.7 percent alcohol, it hits a high note on
the fun spectrum. Pair this one with cheese, or with butter and bread, since
the ending tannins can hit you pretty hard. Honestly, at that level of alcohol
and tannins, this wine should cellar well for several more years. But its
blackcurrant and cherry flavors are both appealing and likeable, especially
with something creamy. Petite Sirah is Phinney’s favorite grape varietal, and
his wine notes describe it as massive and powerful, with intense color and
structure. I’d agree. $52.99. Friar Tuck Beverage in St. Louis.

writers:

this column runs as "bottle by bottle" in the evansville courier and press twice or so a month. the focus is on wines, food and how they intersect. if i receive gifts, i'll tell you. photo credits are noted. i buy most of my wines from winetree, varsity liquors, schnucks, the fresh market, kwik liquor and winestyles (in evansville, ind.); big red liquors and sahara mart (in bloomington, ind.); vecchio's italian market (in newburgh, ind.); whole foods (in st. louis); and binny's (in chicago.) also, i do try a number of wines that i don't necessarily mention in the column, through travels to france and other markets (germany, hungary, italy, etc.) that don't sell wines i can find here. those experiences factor into my tasting descriptions, even if i don't mention them in the column, so keep all that in mind. i write the column to tell my readers in the evansville, ind., area what i consider to be flavorful, balanced and good-value wines for sale in this area.